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About this project

Cancelled? Why?

We have an awesome idea here with Consequential, but we jumped the gun a little bit in putting it up on KickStarter. What we need to do is spend a bit more time producing a full episode for everyone to see before we re-post the campaign. When we relaunch (planning for Oct 1), we'll have more story information, and a more in-depth presentation of the game. Stay tuned :)

A board game with a Story? Voiceacting?

Consequential is unique, and it's going to be awesome. But we need your help to make it happen. We want to create an experience -- a mixture between board game and RPG, something you look forward to playing each week to find out the next part of the story. At its core is a co-operative board game, but it lives within the world of an epic story. Every week, you'll be able to download a new episode complete with a voiced introduction, story bits, and conclusion. The introduction will tell you how to set up your game, which cards and pieces will be used for that episode, and the story snippets will be triggered by in-game events while you play. Here's the sample introduction to Episode 1 from our GenCon demo, in both audio and video format:

The real introductions will be longer, and involve dialogue between characters. All of this content will be downloadable for free. No paid DLC, or one-time access codes!

You might notice there's music playing behind the voice. That is a piece specifically composed for Consequential. We will be creating voice, art, and music assets for this game -- we're going to go all out to make the experience immersive in a way that hasn't been seen in tabletop gaming before.

The project goal amount and the price for the game reflect this; since all the downloads will be free, we'll be funding the creation of everything up front. For $42 (free shipping, and 30% off the retail price of $60!), you and your group are getting not just a physical board game with hundreds of cards, but also a 16-week season worth of writing, art, and voiceacting.

The artwork you see in the gameplay portion of the video is our prototype demo from GenCon and PAX, which will be available soon for download. While it looks pretty good for a prototype, a large portion of the funding will be going toward making this game even more beautiful. The location cards are representative of the finished art.

It's an ambitious project but we're ready to tackle it, and we will produce an experience that tabletop gaming hasn't seen before.

The Story

Consequential is a tale of two worlds connected. Laris, a world of fantasy and magic, and Earth (you know, the one that all of our terrestrial backers are standing on). Late in the 21st century, the connection between these two worlds leads to the Cataclysm, tearing holes in both time and space. Five heroes are brought together by a faerie from Laris named Caliana, and they embark on a quest to protect both worlds.

The adventure will take them to different locations each episode, creating a new Story Deck every time you play. The Pages (the cards of the story deck) within are all bits of the story. Consequential is a world rich in story. In addition to the story bits delivered during gameplay, you'll be able to read and listen to more information about the world on our website.

The game's name, Consequential, is a play on the theme -- the story is both 'out of sequence' in time and the characters' actions have great consequences on the fate of both worlds.

Gameplay

Consquential has simple mechanics, with interesting complexity derived from a wide variety of cards. Each region (of which there are two in each episode) has four locations. Each location has seven Pages. All the Page cards for a given episode are shuffled together to form the Story Deck. This gives each episode a unique feel.

[Two locations on Laris]

The core action of the game happens on the Sequence board. Obstacle cards are seeded on it to begin the game, and the players win if they can eliminate all of them before time catches up. The sequence only has 12 spaces for cards -- and if all fill up before the players achieve victory, the game is lost.

[An obstacle, and two page cards]

To prevent the Sequence from filling up, you'll need to eliminate the Obstacles. Each is fought in a different way. Rifts, for example, are fought by collecting specific symbols that grant bonuses to your Challenge roll to eliminate it.

Evolving Gameplay

The story of Consequential is divided into four acts. Within the game box for Consequential will be sealed packs labeled Act II, Act III, and Act IV. These packs will contain additional cards and components to be added to the game (and rules to go with them) when the story progresses to that point.

Print and Play

Stretch Rewards!

$35000 - A downloadable Holiday Episode (Not part of the main story) released in December this year, exclusively available to backers.

$40000 - Expanded Voiceacting. We will add voices for not just Caliana as she narrates the story, but the rest of the five heroes and other characters.

$50000 - We will expand the season from 16 episodes to 20 episodes, with 5 episodes in each act instead of 4.

$60000 - More Destiny Content. Instead of 8 possible Destiny Events per episode, we will increase to 12.

$70000 and Above - Locked. Every time we reach a Stretch Reward, we will announce a new one!

What's My Pledge Going Towards?

$30K is a decent sized goal for a board game KickStarter. With a typical game, physical production is the biggest cost. For this project though, we're creating much more in the way of art assets -- both drawn and performed! Writing, performing and recording all the voice work will take more time and resources than our other games. That, however, is the price of making something epic. And it will be epic.

FAQ

Aside from the main story, released in weekly episodes, you can also play Consequential with a randomly generated scenario from the website. This won't affect your characters or the story, just a side adventure for fun. Each episode will also have a hard mode, which will grant achievements, glory, and in general people will consider you amazing if you complete it.

In the event that you lose a game of Consequential, we will dispatch ninjas to your house to take away your copy, and thank you for dooming the universe. Alternately, if she is feeling generous, Cali might rewind time and let you replay the episode if you click the big red 'we lost' button. If you really want to, you can skip an episode. We won't tell anyone!

The issue of communication in co-op games is a hotly debated topic! Some players love to collaborate intensely, and others have precisely this 'one player' problem. Consequential will have an optional rule for communication, as follows:

"You may always communicate with players at your location.

You may have open communications between all players on a turn, if you
declare it to be a "Planning turn" and spend 1 extra time. The heroes
are granted two free planning turn tokens to begin the game, which are
free. After they are used up, the extra time is required to offer advice to other players."

Rewards

$1 reward

Free shipping to the US on all levels. If you pledge $1, we will send you an email containing a picture of a penguin eating a banana. Only 72 penguins available. Act now.

Estimated delivery:Mar 2013

You selected

$18 reward

2 backers

Observer -- Receive the full soundtrack on CD and the artwork prints featured in the Collectors Pack level. The perfect option if you have a friend buying the game for your game group! (Free Shipping to US, +$3 Shipping to Canada, +$7 elsewhere)

Estimated delivery:Mar 2013

You selected

$42 reward

27 backers

Adventurer -- Join the story! One copy of Consequential, which contains as much epic story as we're capable of stuffing into a board game box. (Free Shipping to US, +$8 Shipping to Canada, +$20 elsewhere)

Estimated delivery:Mar 2013

You selected

$55 reward

14 backers

Hero -- A copy of Consequential, plus the Collectors Pack. The pack includes prints of artwork from the game, and a CD of the soundtrack. (Free Shipping to US, +$8 Shipping to Canada, +$20 elsewhere)

Estimated delivery:Mar 2013

You selected

$60 reward

26 backers
Limited (2 left of 28)

Adventurer -- Join the story! One copy of Consequential, which contains as much epic story as we're capable of stuffing into a board game box. (Free Shipping to US, +$8 Shipping to Canada, +$20 elsewhere)

Estimated delivery:Mar 2013

You selected

$75 reward

19 backers
All gone!

Hero -- A copy of Consequential, plus the Collectors Pack. The pack includes prints of artwork from the game, and a CD of the soundtrack. (Free Shipping to US, +$8 Shipping to Canada, +$20 elsewhere)

Estimated delivery:Mar 2013

You selected

$300 reward

2 backers
Limited (3 left of 5)

Legend -- Two copies of Consequential with Collectors Packs, plus a voice cameo in an episode. Be part of the story! (Free Shipping to US, +$12 Shipping to Canada, +$30 elsewhere)

Estimated delivery:Mar 2013

You selected

$750 reward

0 backers
Limited (10 left of 10)

Epic -- Four copies of Consequential with Collectors Packs, plus an invitation to our launch party. Be part of the first group of heroes to play the game! Travel costs not included -- we're in Boston. Free shipping, cause you'll be here!

Estimated delivery:Mar 2013

Funding period

Aug 14, 2012 - Sep 18, 2012
(35 days)

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